Justice Sattar presents charge sheet on ‘judicial ills’ against IHC Chief Justice Dogar ahead of full court meeting
Whoever did not read this letter did not read anything. A letter from two judges to the Chief Justice, Justice Babar Sattar, submitted a charge sheet against the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court before the full court session
It takes decades to build institutions but moments to destroy them. We have seen this happening in the Islamabad High Court in the last few years. Justice Babar Sattar’s scathing letter to Justice Sarfaraz Dogar, based on the truth
Dawn Investigation Cell, Dawn TV Report
Islamabad: A full court session of the Islamabad High Court has been called today. Meanwhile, Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Ayaz Ishaq Khan wrote letters to Chief Justice Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar raising serious questions about the lack of transparency in the fixation of cases and preparation of rosters.
The letters said that senior judges were removed from heading divisional benches and some cases were given to specific judges in a discriminatory manner. Justice Babar Sattar also expressed concerns over the failure to monitor the subordinate judiciary and the violation of court orders.
He said that judicial independence should not be sabotaged, while ignoring senior judges in the formation of committees is against institutional principles.
Former Additional Attorney General Tariq Mahmood Khokhar also took the stand that the power of the Chief Justice to prepare the roster is not absolute but a constitutional trust.
Islamabad High Court Justice Babar Sattar on Tuesday presented a charge sheet against Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, highlighting the ‘judicial diseases afflicting the High Court’, all of which came to light before the full court meeting.
The new judicial year in the Islamabad High Court began on Tuesday with Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar calling a full court meeting in which all judges participated. Officials say that the Chief Justice has called another full court meeting on Wednesday at 2 pm, and formal notices have been issued to all judges to attend.
According to sources, the letters written by Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, a day before the full court meeting, proved surprising to fellow judges and High Court officials.
Sources say that these judges requested a review of the full court agenda, expressed serious concerns about the current situation of the Islamabad High Court and made suggestions for reform. These letters were also shared with other judges.
Justice Babar Sattar’s letter, available to Nawa-i-Waqt, Dawn TV, and Daily Dawn, said that the full court meeting was “long overdue but a welcome step to correct the illegal activities embedded in the administration of the Islamabad High Court” and pointed out that this process had begun during the tenure of the former Chief Justice.
He wrote, “I am writing to you to include the following matters in the agenda of the full court meeting. Only brief clarifications or questions have been included here to highlight their importance. Some may say that this effort is futile because, since your transfer to the Islamabad High Court, judicial independence, institutional principles, and harmony among judges have been neglected, but one should not lose hope that a person will realize his responsibility and act correctly and decently.”
Justice Babar Sattar said that in a system governed by the rule of law, the primary responsibility of the judiciary is to protect the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution from misuse of state power.
He questioned whether the judges of the Islamabad High Court were really fulfilling this constitutional responsibility and whether the public saw them as protectors and defenders of fundamental rights.
Justice Babar Sattar questioned whether the High Court was fulfilling its responsibility to supervise the subordinate courts in such a way that the judges there could perform their duties without fear, as enshrined in Article 203 of the Constitution.
He said, “Should the district judiciary of Islamabad run like a game of musical chairs where most of the judges are on deputation or should the Islamabad High Court take the responsibility of developing an independent and dignified district judiciary?”
Justice Babar Sattar said that contrary to the respect for institutional principles, Justice Sarfaraz Dogar made rosters in which senior judges, including senior peon judges, were kept out of heading the divisional bench.
He raised the question, ‘Should the distribution of cases depend on the wishes of the Chief Justice, or should there be transparency as to which case is heard by which judge, and should this distribution be according to the expertise of the judges? We write daily in our judicial writings that government officials are not kings and their administrative powers are neither unlimited nor should they be used maliciously. The cause lists issued during your tenure show that most of the cases are being given to transferred judges and additional judges, while the permanent judges of the Islamabad High Court who had disapproved of your transfer to Islamabad are being ignored. Shouldn’t it be remembered while exercising the administrative powers of the Islamabad High Court that judges, including the Chief Justice, are also public officials, not kings?
Justice Sattar regretted that under the leadership of Justice Sarfaraz Dogar, “we saw that the office refused to release the lists of cases despite court orders. We saw that cases were transferred from one court to another despite the Chief Justice’s office having such authority.”
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